Blurry bike date on South Grand

What started as a not-so-fun, lingering item on my to-do list turned into a fun excuse for a date night last Friday.  My long-overdue yearly eye exam included having my eyes dilated.  Apparently I’ve been avoiding that part of the eye exam for a number of years, probably because not being able to drive (or bike) home afterward is quite inconvenient.  At any rate, I had no recollection of how limiting, or long-lasting, the effects of the dilation would be.

I scheduled the appointment for late in the afternoon on a Friday, a time when Matthew would be able to pick me up.  The plan was either that I would take the car, and he would bike to meet me and drive us both home in the car, or I would bike to my appointment, and he would get the car and provide taxi service for me.

My eye doctor is located smack in the middle of the restaurant goodness that is South Grand, so we decided to add dinner to the deal.

In the end, there was no car involved.  It was a lovely day, and I wanted to bike, and Matthew preferred to bike straight from his physical therapy appointment to meet me, instead of stopping home for the car.  We were gambling that, by the time we were finished with dinner, I would be fine to bike home.

The dilation did, indeed, do a number on my vision for quite awhile.  I thought the main issue would be extreme light sensitivity, but the limiting factor was blurry vision.  I could see several inches in front of my face fairly clearly, but, beyond that, the world was a big blur.  My vision was fine for walking speed — I safely navigated the sidewalks and a few street crossings on South Grand on foot while waiting for Matthew to join me for dinner — but I was in no shape to be operating any kind of vehicle, motorized or not.

Anyhow, I discovered a couple of fun shops in my hazy state, including Parsimonia, a vintage clothing store, where I bought a dress, and the very cool Upcycle Exchange, “a post-consumer art and craft supply store.”  If you want to visit, check out their Wish List first, to see if there’s anything you can donate.

The owners/employees at both shops were very kind, i.e., they didn’t kick me out or call the police despite my very odd behavior of having to hold anything I wanted to see six inches from my face.

By the time we were seated for dinner at Pho Grand, it was over an hour since the eye dilation drops, and I was beginning to fear that Matthew was going to have to bike home and get the car after all.  By the time we finished our meal, I was feeling a bit more confident of my vision.  We delayed just a bit more by sharing gelato, and that did the trick.

Three hours after having my eyes dilated, I was finally good to bike home.  We enjoyed a fairly low-key ride home.  It was the first time I’ve biked in the dark since getting a new front light for Christmas, and, of course, I forgot the new light, so I have yet to try it.  Next time!